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Preface
I’m just going to say it. Going into this feels different than it should due to recent circumstances.
Tommy Oliver is a character that will never die to the overwhelming popularity of his character, but it’s essential to acknowledge the actor behind the character, the one that was the iconic voice of so many people’s childhoods.
Rest in Peace, Jason David Frank.
The Cover
Definitely an ominous cover. Gives a lot of intrigue into who could be hurt or injured and utilizes a classic art style emphasizing the mystery of it all. Excellent cover.
The Story
FLASHBACK LAND!
Matt is forced to hold all of the popcorn while Zack and Trini become friends with Salad Girl.
Back in the present, the Rangers get beaten by Rita or as she’s calling herself, Mistress Vile. Billy, unfortunately, can’t get fix the Dragonzord due to the Putties mucking up the gears. So, Goldar offers them an alternate route. The remaining Rangers and Goldar and Squatt pile in the abandoned Serpentera and wait for Tommy, Kim, and Matt to come through. However, since Ms. Vile is too strong, Matt stays behind and holds the line long enough for all of the Rangers and Zedd and Goldar and Squatt, and Baboo to escape in Serpentera and back to Earth. Apparently, it’s okay since Matt’s the “spare”, the one that is expendable.
White Rita has plans for this new Green Ranger, Zedd arrives in the Command Center injured with the other Rangers. The meat-covered skeleton tells Zordon about Rita’s ultimate goal: she’s after the Zeo Crystal.
Ending Thoughts
Yeah, this was pretty good.
It started off with a cute, fun scene that explained how Kim became friends with everyone. That served as a good contrast to all of the pain and fear she was feeling at the end of the issue. The story had a different tone to it than other MMPR stories with the desperation of trying to survive against a dangerous horde of enemies. There are no easy answers in a scenario like that and the battle ending with the Rangers leaving one of their own behind while the main villain got saved instead is a complex conflict. One that I’m sure will be explored in Green with Evil 2: Electric Bugaloo!
Since this issue is essentially a long action sequence, the art delivers fluid motion and clean lines between panels. It encapsulates the scale and size of Serpentera (something we actually haven’t seen used that much in the previous issues). And, the new design of the Vessel with the blue neon electric really makes this villain look radiant. Wink. Wink.
With fantastic art and horror feel to it, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #102 rapidly ups the stakes for our heroes and villains to a new degree.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- Like I said on Twitter, I would watch Cobra Kai if it turns out that the original characters went to space and that was canon.
- Mistress Vile is not a good name when it’s literally just her using her dad’s last name. It’s like if instead of Cruella, we use the name Ms. Vil instead. Or if instead of Catwoman, we just called her Ms. Kyle all the time.
- By the way, yeah, if it wasn’t clear before, this is no longer in tandem with the main timeline. Because y’all want to explain how after crashing to Earth, Serpentera somehow gets back to the moon fully intact for Forever Red?
